some begging at the fort. Decommissioning and the site as it is today Due to the settlement of the region and the poor condition of the post, Fort Buford was decommissioned by the Army on October 1, 1895. In 1896, all of the remaining structures were sold at auction to be either hauled away or torn down. All but 3 were moved: the 1872 Commanding Officer's Quarters where Sitting Bull surrendered his rifle, the 1875 stone Powder Magazine, and a Duplex Officer's Quarters. The Duplex was used as a residence and the much smaller Commanding Officer's Quarters was used as a guest house and later as a granary by the Mercer family and the grounds were called "Villa Militare" until the grounds were given to the State of North Dakota in 1927. The Duplex burned down destroying with it many artifacts in 1937. In the 1990s the former Officer of the Guard/Officer of the Day building was found being used as a pump house for the nearby irrigation canal and was relocated to its original location. In 2004, an example of an adobe barracks was built at the location of an original barracks that was there from 1867 to 1881. From archaeological findings at the site prior to its construction, it was determined that this particular barracks held Co. G 6th Infantry Regiment while the 6th Infantry was stationed at the post from 1871 to 1880. Of the approximately 1 square mile sized fort only 40 acres is currently owned by the state of North Dakota. Today the North Dakota State Historical Society runs Fort Buford as Fort Buford State Historic Site. See also Fort Buford Stage Road, also National Register-listed Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, nearby site that predates Fort Buford. Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center Fort Dilts State Historic Site Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park References Remele, Larry (ed). Fort Buford and the Military Frontier on the Northern Plains 1850–1900. Bismarck, ND: State Historical Society of North Dakota, 1987. Further reading Barnes, Jeff. Forts of the Northern Plains: Guide to Historic Military Posts of the Plains Indian Wars. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008. Remele, Larry (ed). Fort Buford and the Military Frontier on the Northern Plains 1850–1900. Bismarck, ND: State Historical Society of North Dakota, 1987. External links Fort Buford – North Dakota State Historic Site PBS – THE WEST – Ft. Buford Pre-statehood history of North